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TOKYO - JAPANESE Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on Tuesday renewed his pledge to resume a naval mission supporting the US-led 'war on terror'.
In a New Year statement, he said the battle against terrorism in the Indian Ocean was an international effort. 'I hope to show Japan's attitude of working and sweating together with them for the world,' he added.
But the government faces an uphill battle to persuade the opposition, which won control of the upper house in summer elections, to restart the naval mission in the Indian Ocean, which provided fuel to coalition forces in Afghanistan.
Japan was forced to call its ships home on Nov 1 after legislation expired due to the deadlock in parliament. The opposition has insisted that officially pacifist Japan should not be part of 'American wars'.
Japan has extended the current parliament session by a month to Jan 15 to force through a bill to allow Tokyo to resume the mission.
Even if the opposition-controlled upper house rejects legislation to resume the mission, or stalls for long enough, the ruling bloc can force it through since it holds a comfortable majority in the more powerful lower house.
The risk for Mr Fukuda is that the opposition could table a censure motion against him in the upper house and call for a general election.
Public support for his three-month-old government has fallen sharply, with a poll two weeks ago showing he enjoyed only 31 per cent approval.
One major issue confronting the government is its handling of missing pension records, a sensitive issue in a rapidly ageing nation.
'I will overhaul the pension system and reform it into a trustworthy one,' Mr Fukuda said in his statement, which also said that Japan would focus on climate change and environmental issues in the Group of Eight summit it will host in July.
The Fukuda cabinet has also been hit hard by a string of bribery scandals involving senior officials, particularly one involving procurement of military equipment. -- AFP
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